My Top Ten Bites of the Year – July 2005 to Present

Inspired by Jonathan Kauffman’s column in the East Bay Express, last June I put together my list of the top 10 things I’d tasted for the first time in the past year (July 2004-June 2005). Since a year has passed it’s time to put together a new list. I’d love to see other people’s lists as well. My criteria was:

Had to try this food item for the first time in the past year. It had to be new to me. If it was at a restaurant I’d been to before but I’d never tried this particular item, it passed the test.

Bay Area restaurants only. Yeah, I loved that pizza at that obscure place in Boulder, too, but it’s not going to help anyone on the Bay Area boards.

My Top 10

1) Split Pea Spread. Firefly. (San Francisco)While my birthday dinner at Firefly was good, but not amazing (GBNA), the freebie split pea spread was amazing. My boyfriend and I pretty much had to tell our server to keep it coming, because we were eatin’ the stuff clear through dessert. I didn’t even know I liked split peas. Their spreads change daily, so hopefully you’ll be able to try this one or an equally good lentil-y spread.

3) Burger. Bonne Sante (Burlingame)Full disclosure: I’m just not a burger fan. However, this burger turned my world upside down. It’s cooked perfectly and served with a sun-dried tomato relish that seems to bring out the flavor even more. Not only that but this 8-10 oz. burger only costs $5.45 and can EASILY feed two people, and for an extra 50 cents you can get a big portion of beautiful fries. Miracles do happen.

4) Glazed Doughnut. Rolling Pin Donuts (San Bruno)What’s so special about a glazed doughnut? Well, you obviously haven’t been to Rolling Pin between 10 and 11:15 at night when they’re hot out of the oven. They just melt in your mouth and don’t taste like pure sugar like Krispy Kreme’s. Doughnuts will never be the same.

5) Aloo Bonda. Annapoorna (San Mateo)Although the dosas here are excellent, my favorite thing to order here is the $3.99 aloo bonda. It’s a mixture of potatoes, onions, cashews, and spices fried in a greaseless chickpea batter. Served with the house coconut chutney, it’s sensational. I recently tried Dasaprakash’s version and it came nowhere close to the awesomeness that is Annapoorna’s Aloo Bonda.

6) Blacked Ahi Tuna. Gordon Biersch (San Francisco)Yeah, yeah it’s a chain, but the rare ahi tuna appetizer was damn good with a nice fresh clear taste. It’s served with a drizzle of Cajun remoulade. The portion size isn’t huge for $10.50, but then again it is ahi tuna.

7) Specialty Roll Sampler. Unicorn (Berkeley)I could have sworn this dish was called Horn of Plenty, but that’s something entirely different on their online menu. $9 gets you a platter of six types of spring rolls (Mango Rolls, Unicorn Rolls, Crispy Imperial Rolls, Chao Zhou Rolls, Prawn Spring Rolls, and Crispy Mango Prawns Rolls), each served with its own dipping sauce. It’s fun to try each roll with its distinctive sauce, and the flavors really do meld together well with the assigned sauces. I think our favorite was the Prawn Spring Roll (a coup since the boyfriend had never even tried shellfish until a few months before).

8) Ginger Salad. Straits Café (Burlingame)We were accidentally brought this $9 dish once and the server told us to keep it, and boy what a happy mistake! This salad is a lovely mixture of tastes and textures with a perfectly light dressing. Although there is an ahi tuna option for more moolah, it doesn’t really add much to the ginger salad experience. The Banana Blossom Salad is also excellent, with a perfect balance of textures (chicken, apple, um, crispy things...).

9) Crispy Steak Taco. Nick’s Crispy Tacos (San Francisco)I know it’s been around awhile, but I only was able to try their legendary taco this year. A soft taco encases a crispy taco and the whole thing holds good quality steak and a heap of guac and salsa. I’ve been looking for a good taco for a long time. This exceeded good by so, so much. As soon as I tried it I told my friend John that it would make my top 10 list for the year.

10) Chicken Breast Kebab. Shalizaar (San Mateo)This one is a little tricky to order. The fine print on the menu says you can specify any meat you’d like with the zeresht polo. We always pay an extra $4.50 for our chicken breast kebab, which is super moist and tender. The boyfriend declared it the best chicken he’s ever had.

I started my list in June to follow the continuity of my list from last year that ended in June. Unfortunately, that meant that my jerked chicken/plantain/coconut rice extravaganza from Back-a-Yard missed out by about a week. I'm sure it will make next year's list.